Waste collection and proper disposal is of great importance to any civilized society. Such collections of waste are important both for health benefits and efficient management of resources, in a modern society. This is especially true in areas having a high population density.
A typical garbage or trash refuse collection vehicle includes a compacting device for reducing the volume of the garbage. In the rear of the vehicle is generally a receiving bay which receives the refuse dumped therein. A compacting device removes the garbage from the receiving area into an interior area of the vehicle. This receiving area generally receives refuse including trash and garbage from one or more containers. If it is a large container or receptacle desired to be emptied into the base, it is desired to empty these larger containers more efficiently.
In particular, large receptacles, generally referred to as dumpsters, are difficult to efficiently dump into refuse collection vehicles. These dumpsters present laterally extending bar members (referred to as trunnion bars) from their upper front, and these bars are used to grasp, lift and dump the container in cooperation with a lower foot member. Sometimes a smaller container than a dumpster must also be emptied.
The device for emptying a dumpster is not compatible with the device for emptying a smaller container. If a simple modification can be made so that the smaller container can also be emptied, such that the modification to dump a residential container has minimal interference with the device for emptying a dumpster, the advantages become even more apparent.
While collection of trash and garbage is a required element in a modern society, it is at best an unpleasant task and at worst and extremely arduous and uncomfortable task. Many factors are involved in efficiently achieving such collection. For efficient collection, in areas, especially commercial areas, where a large amount of trash and garbage is generated, it is desired to have a large container for receiving this garbage as opposed to a series of smaller containers.
There is a major distinction in the waste disposal industry between commercial waste collection and residential waste collection. Typically, the waste collection is accomplished by a truck having a device, which provides modification designed to pick up containers, and empty the same. It is also very desirable to be able to place a container into a desirable position. Lifting, dumping and returning with the device is a complicated matter.
Clearly, the commercial containers are much larger than the residential containers. There is no effective way to easily convert from commercial collection to residential collection and vice versa. What is common in the industry today is the provision of separate vehicles for residential collection and commercial collection. There is no simple efficient way to provide for residential and commercial waste collection on the same vehicle. Major readjustments or modifications are required for a vehicle to handle both commercial and residential collections on the same trip.
This requirement for separate vehicles for commercial and residential waste collection clearly creates a problem, when a commercial vehicle is in the area where the waste collection company also has some residential accounts. The cost of sending a second vehicle to an area where a first vehicle is present is costly in terms of both vehicle wear and employee time. Thus an efficient manner of adapting a commercial waste collection vehicle for double-duty use as a residential vehicle can provide great advantages.
If such a vehicle can accomplish both commercial and residential pick-ups on the same trip a second vehicle trip can be eliminated. The increased pick-up capability creates savings in employee time, and vehicle wear and tear. When the desired features, providing the increased pickup capability, for both commercial and residential containers on one vehicle, are combined with the ability to desirably reposition the container, great advantages are obtained.